Each of the 12 awns on each involucre of Dodecahema leptoceras is long and slender. They are more like those seen in Sidotheca (Eriogonineae) than those of any member of the Chorizanthineae. J. L. Reveal and C. B. Hardham (1989) reported a consistent chromosome count of n = 15 plus (seemingly) additional chromosome fragments that bring the number to approximately n = 17. More work is required to resolve the exact chromosome number for the species. A specimen (Meiere s.n., 4 May 1917, CAS) supposedly from Needles, San Bernardino County, is discounted.